Advertising is crucial to the success of Delaware Valley business owners. According to Investopedia, "lack of adequate marketing and publicity are among the issues that drag down small business".

According to Borrell Associates, a company that tracks advertising trends across the country, Philadelphia business owners are expected to spend $3.6 billion to advertise the goods and services they sell. This represents a 7.0% increase versus last year.

The majority of these dollars are being spent by Philadelphia business owners to capture a significant share of the $72.1 billion dollars local consumers will be spending this year. These estimates are based on a revised forecast from the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Of course, there is an over-abundance of ways a local business owner can advertise. Perhaps the best way to generate sales from local consumers is with Philadelphia radio. Here are the top five reasons why...

In 1922, when WGL-AM became the first radio station in Philadelphia, many considered the medium a fad.  Even in 1937, a hit song written by George Gershwin, Our Love Is Here To Stay, proclaimed radio to be a "passing fancy and in time may go".

Philadelphia radio, however, has survived the advent of talking-movies, television, eight tracks, and cassettes in stereo.  More recently, radio has withstood a tsunami of digital options including, YouTube, SiriusXM, Pandora, and Spotify.

As the Coronavirus pandemic rolls over into a second year, Philadelphia radio has hung tough and not ceded its ground despite listener's shifting lifestyles.  This is crucial news for small business owners who depend on local stations to market their goods and services.

Local radio came to Philadelphia on February 8, 1922, when The Bureau of Navigation, Radio Services Division, of the United States Department of Commerce granted a license to station WGL. This station was the 42nd to be licensed in the nation. 

Little is known about WGL except it was owned by Thomas Howlett who broadcast from home at 2303 North Broad Street near Temple University.

In March of 1922, however, the second radio license in Philadelphia was awarded to WIP owned by the Gimbel Brothers Department Store. Early programming included remote-broadcasts of live  music featuring Charlie Kerr and his orchestra from the Cafe L’Aiglon at 15th and Chestnut Streets.  

For almost 100 years, Delaware Valley small business owners have depended on local radio stations to successfully market their goods and services through depressions, recessions, wars, and natural disasters. Even now, during a pandemic, advertising on Philadelphia radio remains a dependable way to make cash registers ring.

Here are five facts every Delaware Valley small business owner needs to know about local radio in 2020.

Before COVID-19, most listening to Philadelphia radio happened outside the home. Delaware Valley consumers were tuning-in to their favorite stations from the car on the way to their job. Then, they tuned-in when they arrived at work. They listened again during the commute back home.

Nielsen recently surveyed consumers who worked from home before and during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The results show, as of June, 66% of respondents now work from home full-time as a consequence of the pandemic.

As consumers are compelled to work from their houses and curtail their commutes, the share of at-home listening to Philadelphia radio has grown 35%, according to Nielsen.